My Bellaire Blog

As I was thinking of taking down the mirrored wall in my small formal dining room convinced that it screamed the ’80s, the decorator smiled.  Not wanting to bluntly contradict me, she whispered as if sharing a secret: “you know, mirrors are coming back…”.  So there you go: a little research on design trends for next year confirmed her statement.  Mirrors are back in all shapes and sizes!  they will help update a room quickly and open up a space. 

The second trend I came across pertains to color: BOLD is it!  Greens, reds, oranges and yellows will add punch and happiness to your mood: a few pillows, bold accessories, a new  lamp shade or even an accent wall is what you need.

Also,  retro is in.  With the above colors mentioned, blending in a retro, vintage or  antique piece is the way to introduce whimsy to your existing decor.  A picture or painting, a lamp or a retro couch can help you achieve the look.

Last but not least, WHITE is the new black…  If you’ve always dreamed of a white leather sofa or want to add white slipcovers to items you already own, don’t be afraid to experiment with that this year.  White is fresh and airy, and you can layer textures to create a white on white elegant decor with a few wood accents to warm it up.  Have fun with your home in the New Year!

If you have your home for sale, you need to think twice before pulling it off the market during the holiday season.  Here are some compelling reasons to ponder, courtesy of Mark Heinrich:

1- Everyone else is taking their house off, so inventories typically shrink, giving your home less competition

2- The second most popular time corporations transfer employees is mid-year so their children can transfer schools at mid-year.  Those buyers are looking for homes in November and December.

3- When does someone’s home show the best?  The holidays are that time when homes are spruced up and beautifully decorated

4- Many buyers want to buy and close before year-end to get the benefit of the homestead exemption.

So if you have been under the impression that now is not a good time to have your home on the market or to list it, think again…  and give me a call!  I am here to help!

I get this question from newbies as well as experienced investors!  The answer is don’t jump on the first tenants that answer your ad.  It is better to wait for a tenant that meets your selection criteria than be sorry later.

Those criteria should be set ahead of time so you won’t be accused of profiling people.  For example,  tenants have to be in their current employment for at least one year.  Or they need to make at least for times the monthly rent. 

Then of course, you want to check rental history (call the prior landlords and ask whether they did not break the lease and paid the rent on time): any prior eviction should be a sign for you to run.  Criminal history is another criteria, and you can have as strict a policy as you want on this: after all it is your property.  However, you need to define that policy; and stick to it!

You will also want to check the credit report and look for payment history, collections and the reason behind them.  Some landlords look for a minimum credit score, while other go by the type of events that have undermined the score.   

At any rate, you cannot base your decision on any one criteria but make sure you complete all the checks mentionned above.  Call the employer to make sure the prospectiive tenant is still employed.  I read a story about a landlord that looked at a credit report that was decent, however, it did not have that much credit history or active credit lines on it.  Had he not pulled a criminal background check he would have never known that the reason there was little credit history was because the prospective tenant had spent the past 2 years in jail for aggravated assault.  So do your homework.  Better safe than sorry!

Truth # 1:  Legitimate bad debts stay on the credit report for 7 yrs from the date of first delinquency and bankruptcies stay on for 10 years.  There are no legal ways to wipe a report clean of those legitimate debts.

Truth # 2:  Disputes, inaccurate and erroneous information is a problem on almost 80% of individual credit reports.  One should fignt and can fight these on his own, but there is a process, and it can be tricky and time-consuming, however not impossible.  So… if you don’t fall in the DIY category here is what you need you know about Credit-Service Organizations (CSOs)  otherwise known as credit-repair companies:

1- They are regulated: check www.sos.state.tx.us for an active registration of the company

2- Upfront fees can only be charged if the company has a $10,000 surety bond, a requirement for an active registration

3- How long has the company been in business is important.  A lot of companies have sprouted recently to capitalize on the tighter credit score requirements.

4- The Texas Credit Repair Association is a trade organization whose goal is to self-regulate the industry.  Check to see whether the company you are considering is a member

5- Contracts for credit-service repairs MUST be writing, with the right to cancel up to 3 days after signing the contract.  The contract has to state the payment schedule, a description of service, estimated time for performance and most importantly the name and address of the registered agent and address of the place of business

6- Take any claims or guarantees of credit score improvement with a grain of salt – there should not be such thing – and always read the fine print!

The only place to obtain you truly free credit report is at www.AnnualCreditReport.com

Here are a few negotiationtips to be kept in mind if you are buying or selling a home.  Always stay focused on completing the sale: That is your main goal! 

1) Don’t go back and forth too many times.  On the third round of negotiations, buyers and sellers stop focusing on the goal of buying or selling a home at the right price.  The parties make it a personal issue, that has much to do with personalities and character, far removed from the deal at hand

2) When you concede to something during the negotiations, always ask for a concession in return. In doing this you are keeping the plane even with the other party.

3) Never take the first offer too quickly 

4) Get the other party to negotiate with himself.  Here is a true story:  Instead of coming back with a counter-offer, a seller responded that he likes everything about the offer except the price, forcing the interested buyer to raise his price without any indication from the other party of where the ceiling may be.  I would caution however that in a buyer’s market like the one we are facing today, this strategy can backfire for the seller.  Buyers may very well walk away to a similar property where the seller is more motivated to make a deal happen.

With all the controversy surrounding the possible development of a soccer stadium North of Bellaire City limits,  I can’t help but think of the reasoning behind the choice of this location.  It seems to me the original 12 acres purchased by the city of Houston East of Downtown (known as EaDo) would make so much more sense!  Being close to the Downtown hotels and other sports venues has a lot of advantages,  especially the access to the major freeways that converge Downtown to begin with.  It would also bring  development to an area of Downtown that was long neglected.  Also, there was the genius plan of having it connected to TSU by rail to allow the University to play its football games there: it tops it off as the better thing to do!  Why pick a location that is as as congested on weekends as it is on weekdays, close to the busiest and deadliest stretch of West Loop 610?  Hopefully this will not come to fruition!  What do you think?

A new word has been coined: the Texaplex.  We already have the Metroplex to designate the Dallas-Fortworth area,  but Houston is now part of the Texaplex:  the Houston-Austin-Dallas triangle.  To familliarize yourself with it and find out why this triangle has become an entity of itself, you can watch this very informative video at: http://www.texaplex.com/watch-the-texaplex-video/

Way to go Texas!

Our phones have been ringing nonstop today after the unemployment numbers released worse than expected. Rates normally would go down. But not today. They went up a small bit, as the treasury prices are being pushed down with flooded demand (rates move the opposite…so up). 

 National employment is at 8.1% , the highest level since 1983.  Let’s look at the bright side, it has not yet reached the worst in history, which was 10.8% in 1982.  I don’t mean to make light of a grim situation, but they say psychology is everything. If you tell yourself it is a bad time, it will be. If you tell yourself it is a great time, it will be. Which is it for you?  I say it’s a great time. A great time to be a Houstonian/Texan for sure. We are (finally!) getting the recognition we deserve as having (a) lower unemployment (b) more affordable housing (c) less foreclosures, and (d) having a positive jobs market.  And did I mention we only have 6.5 months of housing inventory? Its a far cry from Florida with 28 months. I just cannot even imagine what that would be like. Again, thankful to be a Houstonian.

 Is Houston experiencing lower pricing and sale levels? Yes, we are. No one is recession proof. Oh wait……Fargo, ND has 3% unemployment, and according to CNN is not in a recession. That’s right. Let’s pick up and move there! (No offense if you are from Fargo). I’m a city girl. We live in the 4^th largest city in the US (#1 if you are talking land size)  with lots of people. And that means that we are impacted more by trends. Also, we have to keep in check that the last few years we enjoyed above average returns in real estate. Incredible numbers! What we are seeing now is more ‘normalcy’. That statement is from Mike Inselmann himself , the President of Metro Study.

 SMART BUYERS are buying now with these low rates! With unemployment numbers on the rise, and the recession with no end in sight, will we have a repeat of the 80’s and 17% interest rates? My generation (I was born in the 70’s ) is too young to remember these times. But I have been told that history is starting to repeat itself. So will Obama’s policy making make Jimmy Carter look like a saint? My point here is: get out there and buy while you can, before the rates spiral out of control. You could be one of the lucky few someday with a single digit rate- and in the 4’s at that!

 Have a fabulous weekend, and remember, I am your trusted friend in mortgage lending.

Jennifer Hernandez

Vice President/Mortgage Consultant

Patriot Bank Mortgage

Office:    713-337-8400

Mobile:   713-446-7791

E-mail:    jennifer@patriotbankusa.com

Web:      www.loanwithjennifer.com

As you are listening to the national news you probably heard that the Pending Home Sales Index fell by 7.7 percent from December to January to hit its lowest level since the National Association of Realtors began tracking it in 2001.

No matter how dire the national news are, what matters to you as a seller (or buyer) is what is happening on your block!!  Real estate is LOCAL.  It’s like the weather: The average temperature in the US is no indication of what the weather is like in your neighborhood! 

To find out aout what is exactly happening on your block, sign-up for the free Market Snapshot real data newsletter.  It’s free, and you’ll be in touch with the pulse of YOUR market!  Just email Lucie@MyBellaireBlog.com no matter where you live.  The Snapshot is available nationwide, block by block…

Another exciting week, as rates were up down, up ,down, and finally down .25% from last week. Will we ever see 4.0%? I don’t know, but if it makes sense right now to buy or refinance, do it. That is my ongoing advice.

 There is rumor that a $15,000 homebuyer credit has been approved in the Senate. I have not been able to confirm , but I know it is looming. Currently, there is APPROVED a  $7500 tax credit that is given at the time they file their taxes. So, if a first time homeowner (who makes less than $75,000/year)  buys before July 2009, they can claim this credit for 2008 (if they file an extension) or on 2009 tax return (a whole year from now!). The credit offsets the tax they owe, and is required to be repaid over 15 years. So basically, and interest free loan. 

The NEW PROPOSAL posed to the Senate as a part of the stimulus package is: Increase the credit to $15,000 (or 10% of the purchase price if less), and available to ALL homebuyers, regardless of income or purchase history, and not require repayment. Wow. That would spur some buying for sure. I will just avoid thinking where that money will come from for now. Let’s just take a bat for the team on this one, and call it a good thing.

I saw an article online that said ‘Credit Standards Tighten’. Where has that journalist been? That is old news! Yes, it is true. There are more rules, more paperwork. But we just get through it all somehow. The funniest example I have is one of our investors now requires that any letters of explanation for the borrower are handwritten, not typed. Hint: loan officers have really good writing skills. But isn’t that funny? We are going to such extremes. But again, a bat for the team. When I am 80, I hope to look back on 2009 with a grin, and know that I helped a lot of people accomplish the American dream of homeownership.

Jennifer Hernandez

Vice President/Mortgage Consultant

Patriot Bank Mortgage

Office:    713-337-8400

Mobile:   713-446-7791

E-mail:    jennifer@patriotbankusa.com

Web:      www.loanwithjennifer.com